New kind of business: 'Paint-and-sip' comes to town

Denise Morgan, center, the owner of “Brush It Off,” works in the studio with painting students Melissa and Michael Gartman of Brimfield.

With a brush in one hand and a goblet of wine in the other, customers appear to regard the “paint-and-sip” bar as the next big thing in socializing and spirits.

And the less-than-a-month-old Brush It Off at the Sturbridge Market Place, 559 Main St. (Route 20), in Sturbridge, is the latest venue in this growing trend.

The paint-and-sip craze is credited to two Louisiana women, Cathy Deano and Renee Maloney. In 2007, Ms. Deano and Ms. Maloney started Corks N Canvas in Mandeville, La. With four locations in Greater New Orleans, the company began franchising the business as Painting with a Twist in 2009. To date, 73 franchises have been sold all over the country, including Brush It Off.

While paint-and-sip bars are more common in the South, there are paint-and-sip bars in Newton, Natick and Maynard.

Billed as a safe and inexpensive alternative night out, an evening of painting and sipping is like a party from which you bring home a painting of your own creation in the bargain.

A graphic designer since 1982 and former game designer for Hasbro Toys — she said she designed “Elmo's Birthday” game and all the company's 3-D Sculpture Puzzles, including “Elvis” and “The Eternal Woman”— Denise Morgan opened Brush It Off after her daughter, Jessica, took her to a paint-and-sip bar. And she fell in love with it.

“It was such a great, relaxing experience for me that I wanted to share that with as many people as I could, hence, Brush It Off,” Ms. Morgan said.

Realizing that she couldn't do it alone, Ms. Morgan asked a local theater company director if she knew a “spontaneous personality” who could teach painting, as well as engage a room of 30 or so people.

Ms. Morgan found Andrea Newland, a 2006 graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston.

“I never heard of paint-and-sip bars before, so she took me to one,” Ms. Newland recalled. “It was so much fun. And I said, yeah, I would love to work here and paint and teach. It's my two favorite things.”

While a vast majority of clients tend to be women from all walks of life, paint-and-sip bars also cater to bridal parties, corporation get-togethers, fundraisers and date nights.

Ms. Morgan and Ms. Newland said it isn't necessary to be an artist to go to a paint-and-sip bar.

“With any painting, I go step-by-step and show you what brush to use, what paint to use and where to put it on the canvas,” Ms. Newland explained. “So with someone telling you what to do along the way it takes out all that guesswork that happens to an artist like what color should it be and what am I trying to say with this painting. And the people who have never painted before walk away with a painting that is really good. It's like, you never painted before? I'm amazed with what you have come up with.”

In addition to not being an artist, the two women said, a person doesn't need to be a drinker to attend a paint-and-sip bar.

“You don't have to drink to be here. You have to be 21 to drink. I don't instruct on the sipping,” Ms. Newland said. “We had people come in with their teenage daughters and families come in so it's definitely more a painting studio than a bar.”

Most painting sessions at Brush It Off are $35; open sessions are $25. Wine, bottled beer, malt beverages and non-alcoholic drinks are available. Brush It Off does not have a bring your own bottle policy.

Despite being an artist in her own right, Ms. Newland had to learn a new style of teaching to reach those who have never picked up a brush before. Erin Green, a University of Massachusetts at Amherst graduate with a bachelor's in theater, is Brush It Off's other instructor.

“I've done standup comedy in the past. I've done theater and I've done teaching in high school and middle schools and I've painted and I've waitressed. So it's kind of like all my past jobs combined,” Ms. Newland said. “As I'm teaching I keep talking, kind of the Bob Ross (the late host of “The Joy of Painting” on PBS) way of you have to talk while you work so they know what you're doing. And I will walk around the room and talk to people and make jokes about whatever song is playing, try to activate everybody to get involved with each other so we can all have a good time.”

Using acrylic paints, brushes and canvases and wearing an apron, all provided by Brush It Off, participants can choose such topics as a sunflower, a rooster, a teacup and a butterfly and paint away with the aid of careful, step-by-step instructions. A calendar on the website ( www.brush-it-off.com) shows the number of days for each designated subject.

Opening times for Brush It Off in December are: 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays; and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. In addition to scheduled classes, private parties, special events and fundraisers, Brush It Off plans to start “open paint” sessions from 2 to 6 p.m. on specific weekdays, as well as taking the business on the road to senior centers, retirement homes, libraries and schools (minus the bar, of course).